For practice papers for extra practice see the link here:
Time Management
Here is my recommendation for how to split the time in the exam:
- 30 marks multiple choice – aim for 25 minutes but this can be done more quickly. Work on speed by lots of practice multiple choice.
- 10 mark question – 20 minutes.
- 15 mark question – 20 minutes
- 25 mark question – 40 minutes
- Left over time – 15 minutes to fill in any gaps.
Multiple Choice Practice Questions
Here you should do a lot of practice questions – use the past papers and any other relevant practice questions for this.
Multiple Choice Tips
- Practice – do lots of practice questions. Use the past papers (which you can find on the AQA website here) and other sources of practice questions.
- Speed – always time yourself when doing practice questions. See if you
- Moving on if stuck – some questions may take a long time. There is an opportunity cost here – by spending too much time on one question, you may be missing out on other questions which are easier.
- Elimination of incorrect options can be as valid a strategy as spotting an option that works.
- Don’t leave a question blank by the end of the paper. Aim to answer all questions – even if it is a complete guess, you still have a one in four chance of being correct.
Extracts
The extracts are very difficult to predict for paper 3. That said, you could prepare by thinking about possible micro/macro crossover topics. For example:
- Government intervention with tax and subsidy policy: microeconomic effects on particular markets (consumer surplus, market failure correction, producer surplus) and macroeconomic effects (effects on government spending, consumer spending, investment or budget deficit).
- Other government interventions e.g. minimum/maximum pricing, information provision. The microeconomic effects are obvious but the macroeconomic effects could include the effects of employment, consumer spending, investment etc.
- Financial markets – financial market regulation at the macro level and intervention in particular markets on a microeconomic level (including effects on consumers and firms).
- Development – aid targeted towards particular markets. Macroeconomic effects could consider the effect of aid on aggregate demand and the risk of crowding out.
- Firm investments e.g. in a new technology. The microeconomic effects could include the effects on a firm’s costs and profits and benefits for consumers. The macroeconomic effects could include increased investment and effects on (un)employment.
- Protectionism – microeconomic and macroeconomic effects for example of tariffs. You could consider the effect on a particular firm or market, including infant industries or those critical to national security. Macroeconomic effects could include effects on aggregate demand (exports and imports) and aggregate supply (import costs).
Other areas could be possible – these are just a few ideas.
When approaching the extracts, I recommend just briefly getting the general idea of the extracts. Then read the question and read the relevant extract in greater detail.
10 Mark Question
This question typically asks about the extent to which the data support a particular conclusion.
I recommend the following structure:
- Define 1 key term.
- Point 1:
- Quote 1 piece of relevant data. You could identify increases, decreases, highest point versus lowest point, calculations of percentage change based on the data.
- Explain whether this datapoint supports or does not support the particular conclusion. You could also add a possible reason why the trend identified could have occurred.
- Evaluate briefly – one liner comment on the data.
- Link back to question. Data supports the conclusion to a large extent/some extent/does not support the conclusion.
- Repeat with point 2 and point 3.
- Conclusion:
- Overall judgement answering the question. Usually go for “to some extent”.
- Justify your judgement e.g. what is the most important evidence in favour and the most important evidence/evaluation point against.
To evaluate here, think like a historian when evaluating sources. Consider for example:
- Do the data cover the entire time period required? For example if the question states 2017 to 2020 but you do not have 2020 data, consider this as a limitation.
- Do the data cover the entire population required? For example if you are considering the entire working population, you need to consider both those in standard employment and those who are self-employed.
- Would the particular source have a bias, depending on who created the source? Might that source have a particular agenda?
- Would other sources, that you do not have, be valuable? For example if looking at data on standard of living and you only have real GDP data, maybe other indicators such as inequality or education levels could be important.
- Do the data rely on a sample? In that case if there is a small sample size, then the sample may not accurately reflect the whole population.
Other Questions – 15 and 25 mark question
These are similar to the paper 1 and paper 2 15 and 25 mark questions.
Two key points for the 25 marker:
- Usually you need to make a recommendation in the conclusion and you are often playing a role e.g. of some kind of advisor. Make sure you make a recommendation in your conclusion and justify it.
- You should aim to include microeconomic and macroeconomic effects usually in these questions, particularly the 25 marker.
Other Links
For more A-level economics resources, click here: